Lubricating coupling



F. D. WINKLEY LUBRICATIN'G. COUPLING June 9, 1925.

Filed 'Jan. 2. 1920 I/Il/ Couplings, of which the following is Patented June 9, 1925.

- UNITED STATES" A --'1,541,40-9 PATENT OFFICE.

FIQANK D WINKLEY, 0F MADISON, WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR TO THE BAi-LGICK MANU- FACTURING COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

LUBRICATING COUPLING.

Application filed January 2, 1920. Serial No. 348,924.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I,'FRANK D. WINKLE'Y, a citizen of the United States, residing at Madison, in the county of Dane and State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Lubricating a specification. v

This invention relates in general to lubricating systems and has reference more particularly to an improved coupling for lubricating with oil the various minor bearings,

such as the spring-bolts, brake-operating mechanism, steering mechamsm, etc., of a motor car, and is of the same general type as the lubricating system disclosed in my re-issued Letters Patent, No. 14,667, dated June 10, 1919, but embodies certain important improvements thereon.

The problem of lubricating the springbolts, knuckle-joints of the steering gear, and other small bearing surfaces of motor cars in a manner that will insure satisfactory service and longevity of the parts has been the subjectof much study by many engineers who have been engaged in the automobile industry; but so far, to the best of my knowledge and belief, no entirely satisfactory solution has been reached.

The system disclosed in my former patent above identified presents, I believe, a dis: tinct improvement on the old grease-cup system of lubrication, but presents some difliculties in its practical and commercial use since it is expensive to manufacture and somewhat diflicult to clean free from dust,

mud and other foreign matter, which is 3 system, the receiver, which is that part of the bearing to which the grease gun is attaGhed and through which the lubricant passes on itsway to the bearing surfaces,

. from the nature of its structure and functions is likelyto be covered with lubricant that will'cause it to accumulate road dust of all descriptions, and, at times, be thickly coated with very adhesive mud that must be removed before a new charge of lubricant can be introduced; and unless this is easy to do, with no'danger of forcing any of it into the bearing, it is likely to be neglected. If the construction is such that ous damage.

jectionable, since when such dirt has once found entrance the" lubricant under pressure will carry it along until it has reached the bearing surfaces where it may do seri- The principal object of the present invention is to obviate the above noted objections, and the device herein shown and described as embodying a practical and approved form of the invention is such that the removal of any form of accumulations can be accomplished easily, quickly, and by any kind: of Wiping materials with absolute certainty, since thelentire surface of the receiver to which the charging nozzle is applied is smooth and free from any projections, grooves, depressions or other surface irregularities, and the valve in the receiver is of such a structure and character that there is no possible danger of any dirt passing by it, so that the user can always feel certain that there is no grit on its way to the highly finished Wearing surfaces it is desired to protect.

My invent-ion, its manner of use, and advantages will be readily understood and appreciated by those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the practical embodiment thereof shown in the accompanying drawings, in which' Fig. 1 is a plan view of the parts comprising my improved lubricating system, the nozzle being shown separated from the oil receiver;

Fig. 2 is a view of the same parts in axial longitudinal section, and with the nozzle engaged with the receiver;

Fig. 3 is an axial longitudinal view of the receiver, showing its valve in closed position and also showing the oil passages provided in the valve stem;

Figs. 4 and 5 are enlarged cross-sections taken on the lines H and 5-5, respectively, of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a detail in side elevation of that member of the nozzle which opens the receiver valve-and locks the nozzle with an oil-tight joint on the receiver; and

Fig. 7 is a view in axial longitudinal section of an independent receiver by'the use its outer end to within a short distance "of the outer face of the head 13. The

. cams 21 outer portion of the duct 11 is enlarged, as shown at 11, forming a'chainber for a coil sprin 16, this enlarged portion 11' of the duct eing continued through the exten sion 14;

Secured on and tightly fitted to the bolt extension 14 is a cap 17 having a smooth, flat outerendwall 18 in which is an opening of the form shown in Fig. 4 and comprlsing a central circular portion 19 and opposite radially extending portions 20. On the inner surface of the end wall 18 and lying opposite one side of each of the openin or slots 20 are a pair of low spiral (Fig. 4) for a purpose hereinafter ex lained. j r

itted-to slide within the bore 11' and slot 15 of'the bolt extension is a valve comprising a central circular body or stem portion 22 occupying the bore 11' and opposed Wings 23 occupying the-slot 15. It will be observed that the combined radial width of these wings 23 is lessthan the full radial width of the slot,15, thereby providing spaces .for the flow of oil past the outer edges of the wings; and-it will also be noted that the forward corners of the wings are rectangularly cut away or notched to thereby give the forward or outer end of the. valve a contourandsize that will exactly fill the opening the end wall of the-cap, as

shown inFig. 3. This notc'hingof the forward .corners of the valve forms abutment shoulders 2 1 which serve as stops. to limit the closing movement of the valve at a point where the outer end of the valve is justflush with the outer surface of the end wall 18 of the cap, as shown in Fig. 3; the forward end of the valve at this time completely filling the opening in said end wall 18. The valve stem is formed with a longitudinal duct 25 (Fig. 3) open at its inner or rear, end and communicating with the slot 15 by a pair of lateral ports 26.

27 designates a flexible oil conduit-which isconnected at one end to any suitable oil forcing device such as that shown in Fi 1 of my former patent above referred to. 7 To the other end of this conduit 27 is secured the charging nozzle, comprising, as" herein shown, the following parts. To the conduit wall 29 that lies against the end of tube 27 i and is provided with a hole 30 registering with the bore of tube 27. Abutting against the end wall 29 is the valve-opening and vnozzle-locking member 31 shown in isolated detail in Fig. 6. The member 31 has an axial oil duct 32 and an "annular flange 33 at its rear end. Its forward end is reduced in diameter, as shown at 31 to a size which permits it to pass through the central portion 19 of the opening in the end wall 18 of the cap 17, and this reduced ortion 31' is provided with a pair of oppositely disposed radial wings 34 of a size to pass through the portions 20 of the opening in the end wall; these wings 3 L cooperating with the spiral cams 21 in a manner to be described. In the top of the member 31 is a. shallow hole 35 of slightly oval form with its major axis extending lengthwise of the nozzle member 31. Over the members 31 and 28 is slipped a locking sleeve 36 that is soldered to the sleeve 28 and is formed with an internal flange 37 that cooperateswith the flange 33 of member 31 to lock the latter rotatably to allowed between the two flanges to insure the locking of the nozzle on the receiver with an oil-tight joint. Surrounding the members 31 and 36 is a handle sleeve 38 that is locked to the member 31 by a screw 39, the inner end of which enters the hole 35 in the member 31, so that rotary movement of the handle is transmitted to the member 31. The internal diameter of the forward end of the handle sleeve 38 is such that .it will have a sliding fit on the outer end of the receiver cap5 17, as clearly shown in Fig. 2.

riefly describing the operation of the device, in the normal condition of the oil receiver shown in Figs. 1 and'3 the valve is closed under the thrust of spring 16, the opening in the end wall of the cap 17 being completely filled by the forward portion of the valve, and the front end of the latter lying flush with the outer surfaceof the end wall 18 of the cap so that the receiver presents nothing but smooth surfaces free from projections, depressions and any irregularities ofsurface which tend to collect and hold mud, dust, and the like, which surfacesare easily wiped clean by an ordinary cloth wiper or any other cleaningdevice. When lubricant is tobe applied, the nozzle is pressed into endyvise engagement with the receiver, the forward end ofthe handle sleeve telescoping'o'ver the forward end of nozzle 31 passing through the opening in the frontwall of the cap and unseatingthe positions shown in Fig. 2.

"the receiver cap, and the forward end of the sleeve is then given a partial turn in a contra cloc'kwise direction viewing Fig. 4,

tube 27 is soldered a sleeve 28 having-an end which causes the wings 3 1 wipe over the 90 the sleeve 28; a slight amount of play being valve; the parts'then occupying the relative The handle Q position shown in accumulations.

*hianifestly mlnor changes 1n details of cams 21, thereby drawing the handle sleeve into snug, oil-tight engagement with the 'receiver cap. This action ispermitted by the slight lost motion or play between the flanges 33 and 37 and between the screw 39 and the hole 35. llhe lubricant is then forced in, )ushing back and flowing around the valve in the slot 15, flowing thence through the ports 26 into the duct 25, and

from the latter throughthe ducts 11, 11

and 12 to the surfaces to be oiled. When suflicient lubricant has been applied, the handle sleeve is turned back to its former "position, and the nozzle withdrawn; the

valve immediately returning to the closed Fig. 3.

In Fig. 7 I have illustrated a form of the invention which includes an independent receiver, adapting the system to'applicationto any member to be oiled that is provided with a tapped hole to which the receiver may be coupled. This independent receiver is structurally identical with; the receiver already described, except that the part 40 to which the receiver capis applied, instead of being an mtegral part of the bearing memher to be lubricated, 1s an independent member formed with athreaded stem or shank 11 and with the axial bore 42" and 42, the

, stem 41 being capable of being coupled on to any bearing member that has a tapped hole to receive i v It is believed that the invention, its mode of use, and advantages'will be readily apprehended fromthe foregoing description, in the light of the accompanying drawings.

It will be noted as constitutingone of the leading advantages of the invention that upon the removal of the charging terminal .the valve instantly returns to its normal closed position as shown in Fig. 3, effectually closing the recei'ver against the entrance of an forei n matter and resentin a uniform smooth surface easily cleaned of any structure and" arrangement may be made without. departing from .the principle of the invention or sacrificing any of the advantages'thereof. Hence, I reserve all such variations and modifications as fall within the spirit and purview of the appended claims. v

I claim I 1. In a lubricating coupling, the combination of an oil receiver havm an end wall formed with an opening, a va ve in said re-.

ceiver normally completely filling said opening, an oil delivery nozzle formed with a central valve-displacing member slidably engageable with said .opening and adapted to open said valve, a cam on the inner side of said end wall, and a radial projection on the forward end of said valve-displacing member adapted tocooperate with said cam under a turning movement of said 1102- zle to draw the latter into oil-tight contact ceiveiz and valve-displacing member for ef- -fecting an oil-tight joint of said handle rotary movement of said handle sleeve.

3. In a lubricating coupling, the combination of an oil receiver having an end wall formed with an opening, a spring-pressed valve in said receiver normally completely filling said opening, an oil delivery nozzle formed with a central valve-displacing member slidably engageable with said opensleeve and nozzle on said receiver under a ing and adaptedto open said valve, a pair of spiral cams on the inner side of said end wall, a pair of radial projections on the forward end of said valye-displacing member adapted to WIPG over said cams under a turning movement of said nozzle, and a handle sleeve keyed to said nozzle and having 'its forward end projecting beyond the lat ter and adapted to telescope over said receiver.

FRANK n. WINKLEY. 

